Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of dumbbell supports in general. In particular, the present invention relates specifically to a weight bench and dumbbell support apparatus.
2. Description of the Known Art
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, a dumbbell support may be used to support a dumbbell off of a weight bench. Details of a typical dumbbell support are contained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,964, issued to Hayden on Jul. 20, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,723 issued to Santoro on Mar. 12, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,050 issued to Santoro et al. on Nov. 27, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,908 issued to Morgan on Jul. 8, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,118 issued to Rosenthal on Jul. 27, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,967 issued to Kecala on Oct. 15, 1985; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,460 issued to Marsh on Mar. 10, 1998. Each of these patents is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
These prior art patents are very limited in their teaching and utilization, and an improved dumbbell support is needed to overcome these limitations. What is needed then is an improved weight bench dumbbell support for providing variable positioning and support for dumbbells and improved weigh bench performance.
The present invention is directed to an improved weight bench with dumbbell support. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a dumbbell holder is provided for an elongated weight bench that includes side attachment tubes.
The dumbbell holder includes a vertical supporting arm adapted to attach to the side attachment tube of a weight bench. A dumbbell cross support is attached to the vertical supporting arm. The cross support has a first connecting point and distal connecting point. An initial weight support cup is attached to the first connecting point. The initial weight support cup has a first weight vertical support and a first side support, and is constructed so that the first side support defines a first side movement limit for the dumbbell. This side support secures the dumbbell so that the dumbbell will not fall or slide out of the dumbbell holder. Additional side supports may be utilized, and separate weight support cups may be used for each side of the dumbbell. When using multiple weight support cups, a handle aperture may be formed by spacing of the two weight support cups.
Another improvement teaches that the vertical support may be made as a radially symmetrical support so that the dumbbell may be fixed in positioned at various angles to the weight bench. A perpendicular support allows the use of the dumbbell as a standard cross bar type of arrangement common seen for doing bench presses with barbells. A parallel arrangement may also be used from the bench for exercises such as butterflies done from a horizontal position.
Yet a further improvement may be had using a second vertical support attached to the opposite side of the weight bench. The use of a separate independent support creates a usable gap above the bench so that a parallel arrangement of two dumbbells in the holders allows for elbow bends above the bench. The separate independent support and a perpendicular arrangement allows for additional exercises or ranges of motion such as a below bar extension on elevated push ups.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention, along with features of novelty appurtenant thereto, will appear or become apparent by reviewing the following detailed description of the invention.